OPENING  OF  NEW  PIPE  ORGAN, 

FIRST  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH, 

AUSTIN,  TEXAS, 
BY 

CLARENCE  EDDY, 

MARCH   18TH,  1900. 


SERMON   PREACHED   BY 


EDWARD  B.  WRIGHT,   PASTOR. 


PUBLISHED  BY  REQUEST  OF  THE  CHOIR, 


COMPLIMENTS  OF 

ORGAN  FUND  COMMITTEE, 

WILLIAM  G.  BELL  AND  CHAS.  L.  CONDIT. 


SPECIFICATIONS  OF  TWO  MANUEL  PIPE  ORGAN 

BUILT  BY  M.  P.  MOLLER.  HAGERSTOWN,  MD.. 
FOR   FIRST    PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH — AUSTIN,    TEXAS. 

The  Casf  is  of  Quartered  Oak. 

Front   Pipes:      (Speaking)    richly   ornamented   in   gold   and    colors. 

Pedals:     Compass,  C  C  C  to  F,  30  notes. 

GREAT  ORGAN. 

1.  16     foot     Bourdon    wood,  61   pipes. 

2.  S  foot     Open  Diapason   metal,  61   pipes. 

3.  8  foot     Duleiana    metal.  01   pipes. 

4.  8  foot     Doppel  Floete    wood.   61   pipes. 

5.  4  foot     Principal    metal.    61    pipes. 

6.  4  foot     Flute  D' Amour    wood,  61  pipes. 

7.  2f  foot     Twelfth metal,   ill    pipe-,. 

8.  2  foot     Fifteenth    .metal,  61  pipes. 

9.  8  foot     Trumpet    metal,   61    pipes. 

SWELL  ORGAN. 

10.  8  foot  Open  Diapason   wood  and  metal,  (il  pipes. 

11.  8  foot  Viola    metal,  61  pipes. 

12.  8  foot  Stopped   Diapason    wood,  61  pipes. 

13.  4  foot  Flute    liarnioiiigue    metal,  61  pipes. 

14.  4  foot  Violina       metal.  61  pipes. 

15.  2  foot  Flautinia metal,  61  pipes. 

](j.  ::  ranks  Mixture    metal,  183  pipes. 

17.  8     foot     Oboe 

18.  8     foot     Basson    reeds,   61    pipes. 

19.  S     foot     Aeidiixi metal,  61    pipes 

PEDAL  ORGAN. 

20.  16     foot     Bourdon     wood,   30    pipes. 

21.  16     fool      Piute    wood,  30  pipes. 

1 6     toot     Open  Diapason  | wood.  30  pipes. 

MECHANICAL  REGISTERS. 

22.  Swell  to  Great  Coupler. 

23.  Great  to  Pedal  Coupler. 

24.  Swell  to  Pedal  (  bupler. 
2.3.  Tremol  >. 

26.  Bellows  Signal. 

Swell   bo  I  r-real   <  ictaves. 
Wind  [ndicatou 

PEDAL  MOVEMENTS. 

1.  Porte  Combination  Great  Organ. 

2.  Piano  Combination  Greal   Organ,  double  acting. 

3.  Porte  Combination  Swell  Organ,. 

4.  Piano  Combination  Swell  Organ,  double  acting. 

5.  Balanced  Swell  Pedal. 

SIMM  WW  . 

Goreal    Organ    9  stops  549  pipes. 

Swell    Organ    10  stops  671  pipes. 

Pedal    I  i. mm    2   stops  90  pipes. 

Mechanical    Register    6  stops 

Pedal    Movements    5  stops  61    pipes. 

Total 31    stops  1371  pipes. 

II,,.  organ  puroha  ed  bo  delel i  the   Piftieth  Anniversary  of  bhe  Church, 


'RELATION  OF  MUSIC  TO  LIFE  AND  WORSHIP." 


PSA]  m    92:1-4. 


It  is  a  good  thing  to  give  thanks  unto  the  Lord. 
and  to  sing  praises  unto  thy  name,  0  Most  High: 

To  shew  forth  thy  loving  kindness  in  the  morn- 
ing, and  thy  faithfulness  every  night. 

Upon  an  instrument  of  ten  strings,  and  upon 
the  psaltery;   upon  (lie  harp  with  a   solemn  sound. 

For  thou.  Lord,  hast  made  me  glad  through 
thy  work:  I  will  triumph  in  the  works  of  thy 
'hands. 

It  is  our  desire  on  this  Sabbath  day,  ithe  first  Sabbath  our  new  organ  is  used 
fur  divine  worship,  to  preach  on  "The  Relations  of  Music  to  Worship."  The 
Book  of  Psalms  expresses  the  emotions  of  God's  people  everywhere  and  always. 
Consequently,  there  is  no  book  in  the  New  Testament  corresponding  to  the  Psalms, 
because  none  is  needed. 

The  Directory  for  Worship  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  is  quite  clear  concern- 
ing the  duty  of  Christians  as  to  the  service  of  song,  viz.: 

"I.  It  is  the  duty  of  Christians  to  praise  God,  by  singing  psalms,  or  hymns, 
publicly  in   the  church,  as  also  privately  in  the  family. 

"II.  In  singing  the  praises  of  God,  ,we  are  to  sing  with  the  spirit,  and  with 
the  understanding  also;  making  melody  in  our  hearts  unto  the  Lord.  It  is  also 
proper  that  we  cultivate  some  knowledge  of  the  rules  of  music;  that  we  may 
e  God  in  a  becoming  manner  with  our  voices  as  well  as  with  our  hearts. 

"III.  The  whole  congregation  should  be  furnished  with  books,  and  ought  to 
join  in  this  pant  of  the  worship. 

"IV.     The  proportion  of  the  time  of  public  worship  to  be  spent  in  singing  is  left 


■  to  the  prudence  of  every  minister;  but  it  is  recommended  that  mo-re  time  be 
allowed  for  this  excellent  part  of  divine  service  than  has  been  usual  in  most  of 
our  churches." 

We  wish  we  had  the  power  to  speak  of  the  relations  of  music  to  worship  as 
this  subject  should  be  treated,  for  it  is  exceedingly  important.  There  are  the 
best  of  reasons,  psychologically  and  physiologically,  why  music  has  a  powerful 
influence  over  us.  The  simplest  and  best  reason  is,  "God  ima.de  us  so."  As 
Brainard  says  of  music : 

"God  is  its  author  and  not  man, 
He  laid  the  keynote  of  all  harmonies, 
He  planned  all  perfect  combinations, 
And  he  made  us  so  that  we  could  hear  and  understand." 

And  Longfellow : 

"'Yea,  music  is  the  prophet's  art, 
Among  the  gifts  that  God  hath  sent, 
One  of  the  most  magnificent." 

God  so  created  us  that  music  softens  the  asperities  of  our  nature,  calms  our 
nervous  system  when  too  highly  excited,  disposes  us  to  gentleness  and  to  kinder 
views  of  our  fellovvmen.  and  to  nobler  and  more  exalted  views  of  God.  The  old 
poem  is  true  that  speaks  of  its  influence  over  the  savage  breast,  Our  mission- 
aries tell  us  how  a  musical  instrument,  a  piano  or  organ,  by  its  attraction, 
brings  many  wild  men  under  the  influence  of  gospel  truth.  In  mythology  you 
have  read  how  Orpheus,  with  his  melodious  voice  and  seven-stringed  lyre,  drew 
after  him  rocks  and  'trees,  tamed  the  wildest  animals,  and  stilled  whirlwinds  and 
tempests :  thus  beautifully  symbolizing  .the  power  of  music.  Music  might  be 
defined  as  "That  art  which  affects  the  soul  by  tones."  To  say  that  music,  espe- 
cially of  that  kind  called  sacred,  tends  toward  a  devotional  frame  of  mind,  and 
is  in  every  way  fitted  to  be  an  expression  of  the  soul's  desires  to  God,  and  to 
prepare  us  to  worship  him  more  acceptably  in  all  the  services  of  His  house,  would 
only  be  to  say  of  music  what  the  Bible  recognizes  as  true,  and  what  the  expe- 
rience of  every  devout  heart  finds  for  itself  true.  As  Addison  has  it  in  ihis 
Song  for  St.  Cecilia's  Day: 

"Music    religious    heat    inspires, 

It  wakes  the  soul  and  lifts  it  'high, 
And  wings  it  with  sublime  desires, 
And  fits  it  to  bespeak  the  Diety." 

Hooker  says  that  church  music  was  designed  that  the  sweetness  of  melody 
might  make  some  entrance  for  divine  things  on  grosser  minds,  not  reached  by 
word>.  The  incorrectness  of  that  statement  is  that  lie  did  not  say  "all  minds," 
i'Mcad  of  "grosser  minds."  I  read  a  most  touching  account  of  the  great  singer, 
Miss  Clara  Louise  Kellogg,  visiting  a  lunatic  asylum  where  the  most  violent 
became  subdued,  and  many  sobbed  like  little  children  ai  the  sweet  strains  of  song. 


It  was  perihaps  fortunate  for  me  that  I  was  brought  up  in  a  part  of  the  coun- 
try where  great  attention  was  paid  to  churoh  music.  My  father  was  very  devoted 
to  music  (and  his  father  before  him),  and.  though  he  left  little  property  when 
lie  died,  yet  on  his  death-bed  he  told  my  mother  to  give  the  boys  the  advantages 
of  a  musical  training,  which  she  tried  to  carry  out  a-  besri  -lie  could.  The  young 
men  i:t  our  town  played  in  the  church  on  many  kinds  of  instruments — violins 
and  violincellos,  basses  and  double  basses,  cornets,  clarinets,  flutes,  etc. — even 
before  we  had  an  organ.  No  one  told  them  that  it  was  wrong  or  improper. 
They  thought  they  read  the  Psalms  and  other  scriptures  intelligently,  which 
called  on  men  to  praise  the  Lord  with  all  manner  of  musical  instrument-;  nor 
have  I  yet  found  out  that  they  were  in  error.  Great  was  my  surprise  to  learn 
afterwards  that  there  were  people  (and  people  who  also  read  their  Bibles)  who 
thought   it   was   wrong   to  use   instruments   in   church    worship. 

All  who  believe  at  all  in  the  use  of  instruments  in  worship  of  course  testify 
unanimously  that  the  pipe  organ  is  the  grandest  in-i  i iimem  of  all.  The  Century 
Dictionary  says  of  it:  "'The  largest,  the  most  complicated  and  the  noblest  of 
musical  instruments."  In  a  learned  article  in  the  "Sunday  School  Times,"  by 
Dudley  Buck,  Doctor  of  Music,  on  "Church  Singing,  How  it  Should  be  Led,"  he 
says:  "I  am  free  'to  say  that  my  first  thought  was,  how  can  any  one  doubt,  that 
■the  organ  is  the  ideal  instrument  in  its  adaptation  to  the  leading  of  church 
singing?"  While  asserting  that 'the  organ,  though  emphatically  remaining  the 
"king  of  instruments"  and  showing  that  the  organ  may  not  under  all  circum- 
stances  and  in  certain  method-  of  its  use,  be  the  ideal  instrument,  he  says: 
"It  is  in  the  foundation  stores  (diapasons,  etc.)  that  we  find  the  organza  unique 
tone  color,  often  distinctively  called  'organ  tone.'  as  being  something  all  its  own, 
and  in  no  sense  imitative.  It  i-  this  which  makes  the  instrument,  despite  sundry 
limitations,  superlatively  the  best  for  church  use,  not  to  speak  of  its  power  of 
indefinitely  prolonging  a  tone  in  a  manner  that  not  even  the  stringed  instruments 
po-.-ess. 

"It  is  also  this  quality  which  should  predominate  in  any  well-balanced  organ, 
and,  in  case  of  an  instrument  built  for  a  church  where  really  hearty  congrega- 
tional singing  prevails,  this  solidity  should  especially  assert  it -elf.  Such  an 
instrument  should  also  possess  a  strong  pedal-bass,  more  powerful  and  pervading 
than  is  found  in  the  average  so-called  well-appointed  instrument,  even  when  pre- 
sumably built  for  the  express  purpose  of  'leading'  congregational  singing.  Upon 
such  a  pedal  sub-foundation  all  necessary  brilliancy  can  lie  readily  built  up. 
The  reason  why  such  special  provision  for  the  'sub-bass'  should  be  made,  lies  in 
the  fact  that  a  congregation  is  better  'led,'  held  together,  and  harmoniously  con- 
ducted, by  the  progressive  low  notes  of  the  instrument  than  by  the  higher,  not 
to  speak  of  the  shriller  ones.     *     *     * 

"In  conclusion,  and  to  put  it  as  concisely  as  possible,  I  regard  the  organ  plus 
an  effective  chorus  choir  as  one  joint  instrument, — in  detail  doubtless  complex, 
but  serving  united  in  the  one  result,  'ad  majorem  gloriam  Dei!'  " 

And  that  expression,  "For  the  Greater  Glory  of  God,"  as  a  result  of  the  use 


— 0— 

of  the  pipe  organ,  leads  me  to  say  that  if  worship,  indeed,  be  the  "heart's  adora- 
tion of  God  expressed   in  appropriate  form,"   then — 

FIRST.  The  -eiviie  of  song  ami  instrument  i-  for  the  glory  of  God.  If  we 
were  created  for  hi-  glory,  if  the  chief  end  of  man  i-  ti>  glorify  God  ami  to  enjoy 
him  forever,  we  should  value  ami  cultivate  anything  ami  everything  which  glori- 
fies <  i od :  ami  the  grandest  purpose  of  worship  i-  to  glorify  God.  Worship  is 
mil  primarilj  for  its  beneficial  effect  on  us  (helpful  a-  that  i- 1 .  hut  it  is  the 
heart's  adoration  of  God  expressed  in  appropriate  forms  for  God's  own  glory. 
The  scriptures  ami  God's  providential  dealings  with  hi-  church  -how  that.  God 
has  consecrated  music  to  be  fur  hi-  especial  glory.  To  show  this,  let  me  give 
you  something  of  the  history  of  music  a-  related  to  worship  in  the  different 
periods  of  the  world's   history. 

(1)  Before  Christ's  coming.  We  read  in  the  fourth  chapter  of  Gene-i-  of 
Tubal,  who  lived  nearlj  two  thousand  years  before  Abraham,  that  "he  was  the 
father  of  all  such  a-  handle  the  harp  ami  the  organ.''  We  do  not  claim  this  to 
have  been  the  pipe  organ  of  today,  but  it  was  it-  progenitor,  and  the  statement 
shows  not  only  that  music  was  cultivated  and  valued  at  that  early  day.  hut 
implies  a  previous  taste  for  music  and  song.  We  can  well  believe  that  some 
interest  in  music  was  maintained  all  along,  though  we  read  little  about  it  in 
the  record  until  the  Israelite-  lefii  Egypt.  There  is  a  magnificent  ace. unit  of 
the  'musical  .celebration  of  the  deliverance  through  the  lied  Sea,  and  we  read. 
"Then  -aug  Moses  and  the  children  of  Israel  this  song  unto  the  Lord,  saying,  'I 
will  sing  untn  the  Lord,  for  He  hath  triumphed  gloriously.  The  horse  and  his 
ridei  hath  He  thrown  into  the  sea.  The  Lord  is  my  strength  and  my  song,  and 
lb  i.  become  my  salvation,' etc.  And  Miriam  and  all  the  Hebrew  women  went 
out  with  musical  instruments  and  took  up  the  refrain.  "Sing  ye  to  the  Lord,  for 
He  hath  triumphed  gloriously.  The  horse  and  his  rider  hath  He  thrown  into  the 
sea."  So  -ignilicant  and  emblematical  was  that  deliverance  of  the  greater  de- 
liverance of  God's  redeemed  from  the  bondage  of  sin,  that  in  the  world  of  bliss 
the  glorified  children  of  God  are  said  to  sing  the  "Song  of  Moses  and  the  Lamb." 
In  the  days  of  Samuel  the  Prophet  music  perhaps  began  to  he  the  chief  element 
in  public  worship,  and  under  King  David  if  was  magnificent.  There  were  4000 
-killed  musicians  for  the  public  services;  Asaph  had  the  care  of  'he  cymbals  and 
instruments  od  percussion;  Heman  the  wind  instruments,  ami  .leduthun  the 
stringed  instruments.  (The  Levites  seem  to  have  been  the  Leaders  ami  the  skilled 
musicians,  hut  the  whole  congregation,  we  can  believe,  united  in  the  song-  of 
praise.     Grander  yel   was  the  musical  clement   of  worship  in  Solomon'-  day: 

Also  the  Levites  which  were  the  singers,  all  of 
them  of  \-aph.  of  Heman.  of  .leduthun.  with  their 
SOBS    and    their    brethren,    being    arrayed     ill    white 

linen,    having   cymbals   and    psalteries   ami    harp-, 
itood     il    the  ea-l    end  of   the  altar,  and    with   them 
a   hundred  and  twenty  pric-l-  -minding  with  trum- 
pets: 


It  came  even  to  pass,  as  the  trumpeters  and 
singers  were  as  one,  to  make  one  sound  to  be 
heard  in  praising  and  thanking  the  Lord;  and 
when  they  lifted  up  their  voice  with  the  trumpets 
ml  cymbals  und  instruments  of  music,  and 
] . .  .1  i-ed  the  Loud,  saying,  For  he  is  good;  for  his 
mere \  enduretk  for  ever:  that  then  the  house  was 
filled  with  a  cloud,  even  the  house  of  the  Lord; 

So  that  the  priests  could  not.  stand  to  minis- 
ter  by   reason  of   the   cloud:    for   the   glory   of   the 

Lord  had  filled  the  house  of  God. 

—2  Chron.,  5:12-it. 

God    thus    testifying    hi-    approbation    and    pleasure    in   their    worship.     The 
Psalms  called  "Songs  of  Degree-"  are  supposed  to  be  so  named  because  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel  sang  them  in  concert  a-  they  went  up  in  companies  to  the  annual 
feast  at  Jerusalem.     The  young   women  took   prominent  part,  for  I  read,  "The 
singers  went  before,  the  player-  on  instruments  followed  after;  among  them  were 
the  damsels   playing   with  timbrels."     Upon  the  restoration  of  the  rites  of  reli- 
gion by  good  King  Hezekiah.  after  the  reign  of  several  wicked  kings,  we  read: 
And   he    set    the    Levites    in    the    house   of   the 
Lord    with    cymbals,    with    psalteries,    and    with 
harps,  according   to   the   commandment  of   David, 
and    of    Gad    the    king's    seer,    and    Nathan    the 
prophet:     for    so    was    the    commandment    of    the 
Lord  by  his  prophets. 

And  the  Levites  stood  with  the  instruments  of 
David,  and  the  priests  with  the  trumpets. 

And  Hezekiah  commanded  to  offer  the  burnt 
offering  upon  the  altar.  And  when  the  burnt  offer- 
ing began,  the  song  of  the  Lord  began  also  with 
the  trumpets,  and  with  the  instruments  ordained 
bj    David  king  of  Israel. 

And  all  the  congregation  worshiped,  and  the 
singers  sang,  and  the  trumpeters  sounded :  and  all 
this  continued  until  the  burnt  offering  was  fin- 
ished. 

—2  Ohron.,  29:25-28. 

Showing  rbhat  a  revival  of  music  came  with  and  was  part  of  a  revival  of  reli- 
gion. In  the  private  as  well  as  the  outward  religious  life  of  the  Hebrews,  music 
had  a  prominent  place.  When  they  'were  carried  captive  to  Babylon,  they  hanged 
their  harps  on  the  willows  and  sat  down  and  wept  by  the  rivers  of  Babylon,  and 
when  their  victorious  enemies  desired  them  to  sing  and  play  for  their  amusement, 
saying,  "Sing  us  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion."  they  answered  them,  "How  shall  we 
sing  the  Lord's  song  in  a   strange  land?'1 


—8— 

After  the  return  from  captivity,  under  Ezra  and  Nehemiah,  we  read  again  of 
the  dedication  of  the  rebuilded  temple  with  singing  and  instrumental  music: 

And  when  the  builders  laid  the  foundation  of 
the  temple  of  the  Lord,  they  set  the  priests  in 
their  apparel  with  trumpets,  and  the  Levites  the 
sons  of  Asaph  with  cymbals,  to  praise  the  Lord, 
after  the  ordinance  of  David  king  of  Israel. 

And  they  sang  together  by  course  in  praising 
and  giving  thanks  unto  the  Lord;  because  he  is 
good,  for  <his  mercy  endureth  for  ever  toward  Is- 
rael. And  all  the  people  shouted  with  a  great 
shout,  when  they  praised  the  Lord,  because  the 
foundation  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  was  laid. 

—Ezra,   3:10-11. 

And  at  the  dedication  of  the  wall  of  Jerusalem 
they  sought  the  Levites  out  of  all  their  places,  to 
bring  them  to  Jerusalem,  to  keep  the  dedication 
with  gladness,  both  with  thanksgivings,  and  with 
singing,  with  cymbals,  psalteries,  and  with  harps. 

And  the  sons  of  the  singers  gathered  themselves 
together,  both  out  of  the  plain  country  round 
about  Jerusalem,  and   from  the  villages. 

— Neh..  12:27-28. 

Undoubtedly  the  service  of  song  and  instrument  continued  in  the  temple  wor- 
ship until  the  coming   od   the   Messiah.     And  now.  as  we  next  consider 

(2)  Music  in  the  Christian  dispensation,  from  Ohrist  to  our  day,  we  lay 
strong  emphasis  on  the  fact  that  Ohrist  did  not  disturb  many  things.  He  simply 
left  'them  as  he  found  them.  He  knew  his  countrymen  were  a  nation  of  singers 
and  lovers  of  music,  and  not  a  word  nor  a  hint  do  we  hear  from  him  that  music 
in  the  worship  of  God  was  to  be  abandoned  or  curtailed  in  the  slightest  degree 
in  the  new  era  he  came  to  usher  in.  We  know  by  'the  Epistles  that  many  old 
forms  and  ceremonies  passed  away  because  he  had  come  whom  I  hey  prefigured; 
and  the  atonement  they  set  forth  had  been  .rendered.  I  think  that  not  enough 
has  been  made  of  the  fact  that,  as  far  as  the  New  Testament  goes,  it  confirms, 
riot  annuls,  Old  Testament  teaching  as  to  music.  The  night  Christ  was  born, 
how  grand  and  comprehensive  the  "Gloria  in  Excelsis"'  of  the  angelic  choir!  How 
touching  the  "Magnificat"  of  Mary  the  mother  of  our  Lord!  How  pathetic  the 
"Nunc  dimittis"  of  the  aged  Simeon  as  foe  took  tin-  infant  Jesus  in  his  arms! 

We  would  have  inferred  that  Christ  himself  was  a  singer,  but  I  am  glad  we 
are  not  left  to  inference.  After  eating  the  passover  with  his  disciples,  he  insti- 
tuted the  Lord's  Supper,  and  we  .read,  '•When  they  had  sung  an  foymn  they  went 
out  into  the  Mount  of  Olives.''  Ohrist  was  going  to  the  agony  of  Gethsemane  and 
the  cross,   nut  yd   hi'  gave  thanks  and  sang  an  hymn,     lie  was  doubtless  strength- 


— 9— 

ened  for  his  trial  by  singing  this  hymn.  Probably  all  sang,  for  such  was  the 
custom  of  the  Jewish  church.  No  two  or  three  of  the  disciples  did  the  singing 
for  the  rest.  It  may  not  have  been  very  artistic  (I  wonder  how  Peter's  voice 
sounded),  but  it  came  from   the  heart,  and  they  all  sang  in  earnest. 

In  the  early  Christian  church,  ringing  had  a  very  prominent  place,  as  we  gather 
from  the  epistles  and  church  history.  In  addition  to  the  Psalms  of  the  Old 
Testament.  Christian  psalms,  hymns,  spiritual  songs,  doxologies,  benedictions, 
etc.,  were  composed  and  set  to  music.  Modern  scholarship  finds  traces  of  rhythm 
and  poetry  in  several  places  in  the  New  Testament,  which  had  been  considered 
only  prose;  and  these  are  regarded  as  parts  of  hymns  that  were  sung.  Pliny, 
in  his  celebrated  letter  to  the  Roman  Emperor  about  the  early  Christians,  speaks 
of  their  singing  responsively  a  hymn  to  Christ  as  te>  God.  We  have  positive 
commands  from  God  as  to  singing: 

Speaking    to   yourselves    in    psalms    and    hymns 

and  spiritual  songs,  singing  and  making  melody  in 

your  heart   to  the  Lord. 

— Kph..  5:19. 

Let   the  word  of  Christ  dwell    in  you  richly   in 
-     all  wisdom;  teaching  and  admonishing  one  another 
in    psalms   and  hymns   and  spiritual    songs,    sing- 
ing with  grace  in  your  hearts  to  the  Lord. 

i    ,los.,  3:16. 

An  early  writer,  about  the  close  of  the  second  century,  says:  "How  many 
psalms  and  odes  of  the  Christians  are  there  not  which  have  been  written  from 
the  beginning  by  believer-,  and  which  in  their  theology  praise  Christ  as  the 
logos  of  God?''  Augustine  (A.  D.  390).  the  very  father  of  the  theology  dear  to 
the  Presbyterian  church,  a  true  Calvinist  long  before  Calvin,  says:  "How  did 
I  weep  in  thy  hymns  and  canticle-,  touched  to  the  quick  by  the  voice  of  thy 
sweet  attuned  church.  The  voices  flowed  into  my  ears,  and  the  truth  distilled 
into  my  heart:  whence  the  affection  of  my  devotion  overflowed,  and  tears  ran 
down,  and  happy  was  I  therein,  the  brethren  zealously  joining  with  harmony  of 
voice  and  hearts."  (How  is  that  for  the  great  theologian  of  fifteen  hundred 
ns  ago?)  Chrysostom  declared  that  the  early  Christians  <ung  at  prayers  in 
the  morning,  at  their  work,  and  very  usually  at  their  meal*.  Jerome,  writing 
in  Maroellus,  says.  "You  could  not  go  into  the  fields  but  you  might  hear  the 
plowman  at  his  hallelujahs,  the  mower  at  his  hymn-,  and  the  vine  dresser  sing- 
ing David'-  Psalms."  In  fact.  Christian  song  was  a  notable  feature  of  primitive 
Christianity;  and  so  when  we  sigh  to  have  "primitive  piety  revived,"  that 
means,  among  other  things,  more  attention  to  music.  The  Te  Deum  dates  back 
to  the  fourth  century,  and  is  a-cribed  to  Ambrose.  Augustine,  or  Hilary  (probably 
St.  Ambrose  composed  it) .  All  down  the  centuries  the  love  and  devotion  of  Chris- 
tian hearts-  have  found  their  expression  in  beautiful  hymns,  which,  set  to  music, 
have  been  sung  in  churches.     Some  very  favorite  hymns  in  use  today  have  come 


—10— 

down  from  a  very  early  age,  viz:  "Fairest  Lmd  Jesus,"  "For  Thee,  0  Dear.  Dear 
Country,"  "Jesus,  bhe  Very  Thought  of  Thee.'"  "0  Saored  Head  now  Wounded." 
"All  Glory,  Laud,  and  Honor,  to  Thee,  Redeemer  King,"  "  Jerusalem,  bhe  Gol- 
den." "Safe  Home.  Safe  Home,  in  Pont,"  "0  Mother  Dear.  Jerusalem,"  "Jerusalem, 
S\\  Happy  Ilium.'  compositions  by  Ohrysostom,  ami  Ambrose,  and  Thomas  Aqui- 
nas, the  two  Bernard-.  Gregorj  tit.-  Great,  Augustine,  Hilary,  and  many  others 
of  the  fathers  of  the  church.  All  this  shows  whal  intense  interest  the  best  men 
who  ever  lived  have  taken  in  music,  and  how  important  a  part  of  worship  they 
thought   sacred  song  to  be. 

tt  i-  a  little  hard  to  trace  the  history  of  instrumental  music  in  worship,  but 
ems  i  •  have  naturally  held  it-  own  from  a  very  early  age.  One  author  s;iy-: 
"Instruments  of  this  genera1!  olass  (pipe  organs)  seem  to  have  been  used  in 
Europe  from  bhe  first  Christian  centuries.  The  original  impetus  bo  the  steady 
progress  of  improvement  is  due  to  the  fact  that  bhe  pipe  organ  has  been  recog- 
nized even  since  the  fourth  or  fifth  centuries  a-  pre-eminently  the  church  musical 
instrument."  With  -the  Reformation  came  very  great  interest  in  church  worship. 
What  a  debt  of  gratitude  the  church  of  todaj  owes  bo  Mai  tin  Luther  for  his 
intense  love  and  culture  of  music.  How  would  he  have  pulled  through  with 
devils  and  men  in  legion-  arrayed  against  him  hut  for  music?  How  he  turned 
all  Germany  into  a  land  of  song  and  instrumental  harmony,  and  the  great 
church  to  which  his  name  is  attached  perhaps  -till  maintains  the  precedence 
for  interest  in  music.  Soon  came  in  the  great  composers,  Handel,  Haydn, 
Beethoven,  Mozart,  Mendelssohn,  etc.  How  grand  their  interpretations  of  God's 
word!  If  any  of  you  heard  such  a  chorus  as  the  "Hallelujah  Chorus"  from 
Handel's  "Messiah"  sung  by  vast  number-  (nearly  20.000.  -inger-  and  players) 
at  the  Boston  Peace  Jubilee,  you  have  hid  an  anticipation  of  the  symphonies  of 
heaven  itself.  Haydn,  upon  being  asked  why  his  church  music  was  always  so 
cheerful,    replied:     "I    cannot    make    it    otherwise.     I    write    according    to    the 

tl ghts   I    feel.     When  1   think  upon  God   my   heart    i-   so  full  of  joy   that  the 

notes  dance  and  leap,  as  it.  were,  from  my  pen.  and  -ince  God  has  given  me  a 
cheerful   heart,  it  will  be  pardoned  me  that  I   serve  him  with  a  cheerful   spirit." 

We  h.ol  it  in  mind  to  speak  somewhat  of  the  poet-  and  musician-  of  the  seven- 
teenbh,  eighteenth  ami  nineteenth  centuries,  bul  we  forbear.  Often  the  very  cir- 
cumstances of  i  he  composition  of  a  favorite  hymn  make  it  all  the  more  effective, 
if  known. 

President  Edwards  in  -peaking  of  the  ureal  revival  in  New  England  in  the 
lasit  century,  says  that  one  of  its  fruits  there  wa-  a  di-po-ition  to  abound  in  the 
duty  of  singing,  and  he  goes  so  tar  as  to  say:      "As    it    i-   the  command  of  God 

that    all   should  sing,  so  nil  -I Id   make  conscience  of   learning  to  sing,  as  it  is 

a  thing  that  cannot  be  decently  performed  at  all  without  learning;  those  there- 
ton-  i  where  there  i-  no  natural  inability!  who  neglect  to  learn  to  sing,  live 
in  sin,  a-  they  neglect  what  i-  necessary  in  ordei  to  bheir  attending  one  of  the 
oordinances  of  God's  worship" — (How  i-  that  lor  the  stern  Jonathan  Edwards, 
who    wrote    (he   sermon    "Sinner-    in    the   hand-   of   an    angry   God"?)      Indeed,  a 


—11— 

revival  of  interest  in  music  always  accompanies  and  is  pad  of  a  revival  of 
religion,  Whail  does  our  country  and  the  world  at  Large  owe  to  Mr.  Moody  and 
the  poets  and  musicians  he  awoke  to  compose  gospel  hymns!  With  his  quick, 
comprehensive  grasp  of  the  situation  (a  very  commander-in-chief)  he  saw  what 
God's  cause  would  lose  without  music  and  lie  seized  upon  it  a<  .1  chief  help.  Yet, 
Mr.  Moody  (might  have  been  classed  as  one  whom  President  Edwards  speaks  of 
as  having  "natural  inability" — for  if  you  ever  sal  next  to  Mr.  Moody  and  heard 
him  try  to  sing,  your  nerves  would  have  been  rasped  by  his  discords.  He  couldn't 
sing,  but  tin-  music  was  way  down  in  his  soul  and  he  loved  it  extravagantly. 

It  seems  as  if  we  have  said  enough  after  reviewing  the  place  and  power  the 
service  of  song  has  bad  Ln  worship,  to  -how  that  very  much  care  and  a  1  tent  ion 
should  be  given  it.  and  that  it  is  truly  for  the  glory  of  God,  but,  if  you  still 
doubt  it.  next. 

(3)'  Look  forward  and  see  the  place  song  and  music  have  iii  the  employment 
of  tfhe  Redeemed  in  glor\  : 

And    they   sung   a   new    song,    -axing.   Thou   ait 

worth]    to   take   the   book,   and    I  1   open    the   seals 

ithereof:    for    thou    wasl    slain,   and   hasl    redeemed 

,      us  to   God   by    tUiy    bl 1    oui    oi    every    kindred. 

and -tongue,  and   people,  and  nation. 

—Rev..  5:9. 

And   I    heard   a    voice   from  heaven,  as  the  voice 
of  many   waters,  and   as   the  voice  of  a  great  thun- 
der:   and    [    heard    the    voice    of    harper-    harping 
with   their   harp-  : 

Am!  they  sung  a-  it  were  ,1  new  song  before  the 
throne. 

—Rev..   14:2-3 

Having  the  harps  of  God  they  sing  the  song  of 
Mioses,  the  servant  of  God,  and  the  song  of  the 
[jamb,  saying,  Great  and  marvelous  are  thy  work-. 
Lord  God  Almighty:  just  and  true  an  tin  ways, 
1  lion  King  of  saints. 

—Rev.,   15:3. 

And  1  heard  as  it  were  the  voice  of  a  great 
multitude,  and  as  the  voice  of  many  water-,  and 
as  the  voice  of  mighty  thunderings,  saying,  Alle- 
luia:   for   the   Lord  God   omnipotent   reigneth. 

—Rev..  19:6. 

Ah!  they  are  not  afraid  of  instrumental  music  there — the  voice  and  instruments 
go  together.  The  Psalmist  tells  11-  "As  well  the  singe.-  a-  the  players  on 
instruments  -hall  be  there.''  In  this  connection  let  me  say  that  Lowell  Mason, 
the   great    leader   of   music,    -aid    he   never   knew   of   a  person   who  belonged   to   a 


—  12— 

choir  but  sooner  or  later  became  a  Christian.  To  many,  one  of  'tJhe  chief  antici- 
pations of  heaven  is  its  music.  You  would  hardly  expect  such  a  stern  Puritan 
as  John  Milton  to  write  as  follows:  (Yet  he  did,  you  see  how  the  organ  helped 
him.) 

''There  let  the  pealing  organ  blow 

To  tJhe  full-voiced  choir  below. 

In  service  high  and  anthems  clear. 

As  may  with  sweetness  through  mine  ear 

Dissolve  me  into  eostacies, 

And  bring  all  heaven  before  mine  eyes." 

If  music  had  such  a  place  in  the  old  dispensation  and  is  to  have  in  the  world 
to  come,  it  takes  a  bold  man  to  say  that  music  has  no  place  and  is  no  help  in 
bhis  Christian  dispensation.  I  know  the  danger  that  men  may  tic  in  love  wibh 
music  as  one  of  the  fine  arts,  while  the  heart  is  not  right  with  God.  There 
was  a  lime  wnen  men  whom  we  honor  today,  entered  the  cathedrals  and  leveled 
organs  to  the  ground,  and  pulled  down  pictures  and  broke  into  thousands  of 
pieces  fine  stained  glass  window-,  and  melted  silver  statues  of  the  Apostles  into 
coins,  and  sent  tfhem  about  doing  good,  like  their  master,  (to  quote  from  Oliver 
Cromwell,)  and  why?  Because  all  these  were  made  to  minister  to  mere  ritualism 
and  formalism  and  superstition.  Our  ancestry  were  afraid  of  fine  art.  of  music 
and  painting  and  sculpture.  Stern  times  demanded  stern  men.  If  such  times 
ever  come  back,  may  God  again  raise  up  stiff-backed  Puritans  and  Covenanters 
and  Huguenots  to  do  the  same  work  over  again,  and  may  there  be  some  new 
Jennie  Geddes  to  pitch  a  footstool  at  the  preacher's  head,  if  he  dares  bring  in 
ritualism  in  the  place  of  right  worship.  But  this  need  not  be.  Man's  aesthetic 
nature  need  not  be  perverted.  In  the  golden  age,  and  in  the  most  consecrated 
smils.  music  and  art  will  help,  and  not  hinder.  Men  will  be  more  in  love  with 
truth  than  with  beauty,  yet  both  may  go  together.  All  the  heart  thrilling 
music  and  impressive  ceremonies  of  the  grandest  cathedrals  never  of  themselves 
lifted  a  soul  to  heaven.  Unless  tlhe  heart  goes  out  to  God  in  penitence  and  faitli 
and  love,  all  these  may  be  nothing  better  than  the  drums  and  clanging  cymbals 
of  old  Moloch's  worship.  Men  may  weep  under  the  influence  of  line  music  and 
feel  solemn  in  the  dim.  religion-  light  of  some  gorgeous  temple,  but  mile--  their 
hearts  are  right  with  Cod:  and  they  are  reconciled  to  Ilim  by  t.he  blood  of  the 
Crucified  One,  //km-  mere  aesthetic  worship  will  be  in  vain.  Mm'-  heart  must 
be  moved  by  the  obedience  of  faith.  Yet  in  every  age  those  who  have  loved  God 
have  found  it  helpful  to  praise  Him  in  song,  and  have  thus  been  encouraged 
in  Christian  lite,  and  better  prepared  for  God's  service  on  earth  and  in  heaven. 
Let  me  speak  a  little  of  this,  viz.: 

SECOND.  The  service  of  song,  the  sacrifice  of  praise  i-  for  our  own  growth 
in  grace  and  effective  obedience  to  God.  We  have  spoken  of  its  being  for  His 
glory,  now  wfhat  dors  it  do  for  u-':  Remember  that  our  emotions,  convictions 
and  experiences  are  quickened  bj  music.  \  boy  learns  dhat  early  in  life,  lb 
enjoys   himself   more  and   can   do    work    better    when    he   whi-tle-.     lie   can  even 


—13— 

gather  couraffe  to  go  through  a  graveyard  on  a  dark  night  if  he  whistles  loud 
enough — for  one  thing, 

(1)  Music  enhances  our  enjoyment  of  the  service  of  Christ.  Xo  wonder  we 
read  in  James*  epistle:  "Is  any  merry  among  you,  let  'him  sing  psalms."  Peo- 
ple think  and  say,  "I  do  not  feel  like  worship.  1  do  not  feel  like  Christian  work." 
Well,  sing,  in  order  to  feel,  is  God's  appointed  method  to  help  us  over  the  hard 
place-. 

There  is  nothing  better  for  this  than  a  rousing  hymn  of  praise.  Paul  and  Silas 
did  not  probably  feel  much  like  praising  Cod  and  thanking  Him  for  His  mercies, 
but  they  sang,  and  relief  came.  The  old  dungeon  was  melodious  with  praise 
and  the  prisoners  heard  them  and  God  honored  sudh  faith  by  the  results  that 
followed.     The  advice  one  hymn  gives  us  is: 

"Sing  till   we  feel  our  heart-. 
Ascending  with   our   tongue. 
Sing  till  our  love  of  sin  departs 
And  grace  inspires  our  song." 

As  one  says:  "Religious  music  is  the  language  of  religious  emotion.  Through 
it  we  express  the  unspeakable  desire  of  our  hearts."  Our  emotions  must  have 
utterance  to  lead  to  practical  results.  You  have  not  read  the  Psalms  in  vain 
if  you  have  noticed  that  while  often,  they  begin,  "E  profundi®,  Out  of  the  depths 
have  -I  cried  unto  Thee,  0  God,"  yet  there  is  a  gradually  ascending  scale,  and 
the  Psalm  ends  in  the  heights  of  triumphant,  faith. 

(2)  Music,  too,  makes  trials  less  severe.  All  civilized  governments  keep  up 
ait  large  expense,  military  bands  in  their  armie-.  Soldier-  can  march  and  fight 
and  die,  if  need  be,  better  when  there  i-  music  around.  They  can  bear  cold  and 
heat,  wet  and  hunger,  fatigue,  wounds  and  sickness  easier  if  martial  music  comes 
bo  ileii  ears.  We  -poke  of  Paul  and  Silas  at  Philippi  with  back-  lacerated 
from  the  acouTgings  in  most  constrained  and  painful  position.  Yet  racked  as 
i'i.  \  were  with  their  agony,  at  midnight  they  sang  praises  to  him  who  gives 
"songs  in  the  night,"  and  great  was  their  reward.  Hear  Martin  Luther.  Says 
he:  "Music  is  one  of  the  fairest,  most  glorious  gifts  of  God,  to  which  Satan 
i-  a  bitter  enemy,  for  it  removes  from  the  heart  the  weight  of  sorrows  and  the 
fascination  of  evil  thoughts.  Music  is  a  kind  and  gentle  sort  of  discipline;  it 
refines  the  passions  and  improves  the  understanding."  Another  says:  "Of  all 
the  arts,  great  Music  is  the  art  to  raise  the  soul  above  all  earthly  sorrows.  An- 
other: 

"Full  oft  the  longing  soul  goes  out 
On  wings  of  song  it's  good  to  find. 
And  flying  far  o'er  flood  and  doubt 
Its  ark  of  bondage  leaves  behind." 


—  14— 

Or.  as  Longfellow  bells  as: 

"Such  -lings  have  power  to  quiet 
I  de  restless  pulse  of  cave, 
\n.l  come  like  the  benediction 
That  follow-  after   prayer." 

(3)  Music  makes  temptation  less  dangerous.  I  believe  Satan  gives  up  and 
does  not  think  it  worth  his  while  to  waste  much  of  his  time  on  the  man  who 
sings  fervently.     Per  contra,  as  Shakespeare  has  it: 

"The  man  thad  has  no  music  in  himself, 
And  is  not,  moved  bj   concord  of  sweet  sounds, 
[s  tit    for  treasons,   strategems  and  spoils." 

(4)  Win,  the  service  of  song  enhances  our  zeal    in   following  Christ.     No 
wonder  tyrannical  royalty  feared  the  "Marseillaise,"  and  well  11   might.     Victory 
has  been  won   out   oi     Left  i     fctself  by   a    nation's   airs   played   with   enthusiasm. 
and  heroism  has  accomplished  wonderful  result-  tired  by  the  music  of  tihe  t;,i 
land      4  Christian  soldier's  music  uplifts  his  heart  to  loyal  service  for  the  ,  ea 
Captain   of   his   salvation.     The   psalmist   says:     "Thy    statutes    have    been    my 

song,  in  the  house  of  my  pilgrimage."'     The  ideal  Christian  life  i-  a  1, I  song 

,,„,„,.  than  a  mournful  walking  before  the  Lord  of  hosts.     In  Uh,    Old  Testan 
worship    "when    the   burnt  offering   began    (which  symbolized    the   consecration 
of  Jll;lll  bo  his  Cod),  the  song  of  the  Lord  began  also  with  the  trump,-!-  and   th, 
instruments,"  all   of   wfhioh    shows  thai    even   self-sacrifice   for  Chrisi  -    aake  can 
l„.  a   oaabter  of  triumph  and  zesl   and  buoyancy  and  exhilaration.     God  does 
ask  for  nor  desire  constrained   service.      Everj    '  hristian   oughl    I  ,   have  ,    arhol 
orchestra  of  trumpets  and  cornets  and  harp-,  a  veritable  pipe  organ  oi  all  instru- 
ments in  hi-  soul,  and.  "Psalms  and  hymns   and   spiritual  songs,  and  a  making 
of  melody  in  the  heart  unto  the  Lord."     "Lei  those  refuse  to  sing  who  never  knew 
our  Cod."     "Infidelity  has  no  hymns." 

Til  I  HI)     The  .service  of  praise  is  bo  influence  the  world   lor  good.     '1  he  evil 
„„,  knows  -.ell  the  power  of  musk,  and  ha-  shrewdlj   used  11   bo  Lure  men  bo 
struotion    and  -hall  nut  Christ's  church  and   bbe  individual  Christian  use 
help  me  up  and  h,  -en,  their  salvation?     t'hu.ch  musk  should  he  such  a-  to 
attrod   the  people  bo  bhe  house  oi  God.     Lei  Saban  have  a-  libtle  good  music  as 

possible,  ami   bo  do  ithis   it.  i-  necessary   for  Chrisi      d h    I  i   pre-empt  It.     In 

the   battle  of  life,  in   the  crowd   of  can-  and   woes  and   toils,   men   are    I  i 
into  Christian's   faces  and   bo  bhe  church  of  Chrisi   bo  see  if  we  have  sometl 

worth   .he,    having.     If  we  pub  cheer  and   song  into  our  lives,  .1   bin 

sing   earnest bhe   Sabbath   irradiate   our   lives  during    the    week,    we    mill 

impress  men  for  good.     The   world   is   full  of  rich   men  tired  of  the  pursuii    and 

worrj    Oi    wealth;    of   learned   men   weary  with   the   limitation-  of   t.hen    kno 

,,,-  ,,!,.,  „,e  jeekers  hungry  for  something  of  pleasure  they  now  know  nothing  of; 

of  , folks  worn  b3    the  bitterness  of  poverty;   o1   sufferers  groaning   in  the,, 

ag,0„,     oi   boilei     heartsick  because  of  unrequited  toil:  of  sinners  with  awakened 


—15— 

consciences,  finding  that  the  sbing  of  life,  even  before  death  draws  nigh,  is  sin, 
for,  at  tames  men  do  realize  thai  tiny  must  stand  before  God's  judgment  bar 
and  give  an  account  of  the  deeds  done  in  the  body.  Will  not  we  Christians  show 
all  such,  not  only  by  cheerful  songs  in  God's  house  mi  the  Sabbat*  day.  but  by 
a  cheerful  life  of  song  all  the  week  that  the  service  of  our  Lord  Jesus  i<  a  blessed 
life  and  has  in  anticipation  tlhe  joys  of  eternity,  for  ■•in  Thy  presence  there  is  a 
fullness  of  joy.  at   Thy  right 'hand   there  are  pleasures   forever  more. 

****** 
Our  new  Iong-ihoped-for  organ  ha-  come.     We  use  it   today  for  its  lir-t   Sabbath 

service  in   God's   house.     To   procure   it.   son f  you    have  given  of  your   means 

with  true,  self-sacrificing  spirit.  Some  < T  you  have  toiled  heartily  to  secure  our 
possession  of  it,  and  will  continue  -  i  to  give  m  I  labor  until  it  i-  fully  paid  for. 
And  now  what?  How  foolish  and  -infill  to  make  it  a  matter  of  vain  glory,  pride 
and  boasting.  Vol  that!  Shall  its  presence  and  voire  be  foi  the  glory  of  God 
and  oui  growth  in  grace,  and  for  a  type  of  intelligent  and  spiritual  worship? 
God  gi  a  ni  it !  Bul  all  this  means  some  exei  i  i  md  effort  on  our  part.  We  will 
continue  to  use  the  old  songs,  for  main  can  say: 

"Old   turn  -  are  pre  :i    lis  to    ne  as  old  paths 
In  which   I   wandered  i  ppj    boj  . 

,     In  truth,  bhese  a  od, 

\\  ell    worn,    familiar  up   bo  G  id." 

But    many    want    new    hymns   and    tune-  with    the   old.     Thai    is    well. 

Try  to  learn   them  and   sing  them,  and  if  one   positively  cannoit,  by  any  pro- 
sing    a  iih  the  voice,  at  least  always  have  a  hymn-b  i  tnd  read  the  hymn, 

and  take  in  its  truth  and  worship,  "making  melody  in  your  heart."'  The  value  of 
the  "hymns  oi  the  ages"  us  me  eh  ->  tig  instruction  is  something  very  helpful. 
It  is  a  good  thing  while  people  are  waiting  for  -ci  ,  cad  the  hymns. 

Will    th  ii    help   or   hinder   congregational    singing?     That    i-    for   you   to 

de.  It  ou<jltt  to  help.  That  i-  what  it.  1-  for,  but  that  depends  on  you. 
Congregational  singing  we  must,  aim  ail  and  secure.  We  arc  bound  bo  have  it. 
It  i-  helpful  to  be  led  bj  a  choir,  and  a  congregation  owes  a  debt  of  gratitude  to 
a    faithful  choir  -   often  unappreciated.     There  are  physical   reasons   wiry 

the  organ  should  help.  If  our  voices  are  weak,  it  sustains  them;  if  they  are 
1 1     ordant,  it  helps  keep  our  neighbors  from  noticing  it  very  much.     Let  all  sing. 

A-  i'm-  r-.i!iin-i   hi-  it:      "Let  the  peo] i-c  Thee.  0  Lord,  let  all  the  people 

praise  Thee."  The  music  is  not  a  secular  concert  for  your  delectation.  Even 
when  the  anthem-  and  solos  and  quartettes  are  sung  enter  into  the  spirit  of 
them.  i  It  is  one  of  the  virtues  of  our  choir  that  they  try  to  enunciate  so  that 
the  people  can  understand  the  words.)  In  the  hymns  sing  with  the  spirit  and 
with  the  understanding  also. 

It  i-  better  I  i  make  discords  than  not  to  try  to  sing.  We  will  sing  in  heaven. 
let  us  try  to  he  iii  preparation  and  training  for  that  better  service  of  sonc.  1 
supp  :-••  there   ir<    no  discords  in  the  harmonic-;  and  symphonies  of  those  voices  and 


—16— 

instruments.  May  the  centre  and  focus  of  ea-nth's  adoration  be  the  praises  of  Him 
who  died  on  Calvary's  cross  to  redeem  us!  May  this  organ  be  for  the  greater 
glory  of  God  and  for  the  strengthening  of  His  church  in  nobler  worship!  May 
its  melody  comfort  our  sorrow  and  strengthen  our  joy.  resounding  continually 
with  the  praises  of  Him  who  loved  us  and  gave  Himself  for  us,  and  preparing  us 
to  join  in  that  ever  new  song: 

"Thou  art  worthy,  for  Thou  wast  slain  and  hash 
redeemed  us  to  God  by  Thy  blood.  Worbhy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain,  to  receive  power  and  riches 
and  wisdom  and  strength  and  honor  and  glory 
and   olessmg.     .-unen. 


